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Best Steak


jim07044

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I realize the banality of this question is like asking what is the best color Ferrari ... but I need help choosing a restaurant for a birthday dinner in mid March. Here are my list of contenders:

BLT Steak

Bobby Van's

Del Frisco's

Landmarc

Minetta Tavern

Palm

Post House

Peter Luger

Sparks

STK

Strip House

Wollensky's

I want a great steak, big red wines, and a space that invites lounging and people/celeb spotting. Any recommendations?

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I realize the banality of this question is like asking what is the best color Ferrari ... but I need help choosing a restaurant for a birthday dinner in mid March. Here are my list of contenders:

BLT Steak

Bobby Van's

Del Frisco's

Landmarc

Minetta Tavern

Palm

Post House

Peter Luger

Sparks

STK

Strip House

Wollensky's

I want a great steak, big red wines, and a space that invites lounging and people/celeb spotting. Any recommendations?

Best color for a Ferrari, red of course. That was easy. Now the part about the steak and your criteria......

Great Steak (assuming you want choices, not just one steak like Minetta) - Peter Luger's, Ben and Jack's, Sparks, Keens, Strip House, Wollensky.

Big Red Wines, this just makes me think of the classics - Sparks, Keens, Wolfgang's, Wollensky, etc. Though all of the ones you quoted have a decent wine list.

Lounging, then you need the newer entrants - STK, Dillon Prime, etc with the nicely decorated space.

People/Celeb spotting - I'd say model types for people spotting don't frequent steakhouses. All of the above has a fair chance of spotting a celeb, though I would say the chances are not as high as the trendy restaurants.

In some ways, your first two requirements contradict with the latter. The best bet is to break it into two locations to get a great steak, and then to lounge around.

I work at day, I run my start-up at night. Somewhere in between, I eat and blog about dinner - EatBigApple New York Food Blog

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Yes, I've been to Del Frisco's and the Post House. My friend salivated at the steak at Maloney and Porcelli, near Rockefeller center. And he salivated at the oysters at the Post House.

We're going to BLT Steak at White Plains this saturday. What steak there is the best?

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I realize the banality of this question is like asking what is the best color Ferrari ... but I need help choosing a restaurant for a birthday dinner in mid March. Here are my list of contenders:

BLT Steak

Bobby Van's

Del Frisco's

Landmarc

Minetta Tavern

Palm

Post House

Peter Luger

Sparks

STK

Strip House

Wollensky's

I want a great steak, big red wines, and a space that invites lounging and people/celeb spotting. Any recommendations?

Of the ones you mentioned, Strip House and Minetta are probably the ones most like to fulfill all the requirements, as they're the only two of the bunch that you might spot a celeb at. Minetta has only a couple of choices in terms of which steak you get (a cote for two, and a sirloin), but both of those steaks are excellent and Minetta is the most scene-y on your list. Strip House is less likely for celeb spotting but probably the best balanced combo of the elements you're looking for.

Edited by LPShanet (log)
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  • 1 month later...

Coming from someone who is a steak lover and eaten in most of the top steakhouses in NYC-- My faves:

Traditional:

Peter Luger

Keens

Old Homestead

Smith and Wollensky

Newer:

Strip House

BLT Prime

Quality Meats

Best Steak from non steakhouse:

Minetta Tavern

Craft

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I've been to Sparks twice and the first time was magical. One of the best steaks I've ever had. That was several years ago.

I went in Feb of this year and was fairly disappointed. The steak was pretty tasty, but not among the best and the wine selection just annoys me. If you are paying top dollar, then I'm sure you'll love it but I hate going to a place and the cheapest option is 70 bucks/bottle for less than mediocre wine. The wait staff is also that old school we don't care about you type as well. I won't be going back.

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Quality Meats has been my favorite steak house for awhile and always been consistent with service, food, and the occasional celebrity. I recently celebrated my 30th BDAY there with the rack of lamb and a BYObottle of opus one which was one of the best meals I can think of.

Old Homestead has the best and biggest prime rib I've ever seen, but it seems a little more old traiditional than what you were looking for.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've eaten at all the places you mentioned except for Minetta and BLT Steak. My current favorite NYC steakhouses:

Luger' and Wolfgangs - overall best quality/most flavorful steak on any given night (assuming you like their style, which is Porterhouse cooked with butter)

Strip House - steaks close to or as good as Luger's, but with much better side dishes, service and atmosphere. It has a sort of darker/sexier decor, and would be my first choice if I were taking a date or female companion.

Keen's - The steaks may not be quite as good as the previous places mentioned, but they are still excellent and consistent (get the Porterhouse for 2 or 3 people). I also really like the historic atmosphere of the place which dates back to the late 1800's. The service is very polite and professional, so much better than the usual NYC steakhouse bad attitude. The best part of all is that they allow BYOB with only a $20 corkage fee. They are also very friendly about it and will decant your wine at the table. Since I like to drink great red wine with my steaks, but hate paying 3-4x markup, Keen's is my new favorite. Their house wine list isn't that interesting or extensive, so bring your own. You might call ahead to make sure what you're bringing isn't on their list, as that's the one supposed house rule (though I'm not sure they'd enforce it). And don't bother ordering the hash browns here, they're not very good. Ask for a plate of extra crispy fries which are much better.

Smith and Wollensky - I still like the back bar for a more casual steak night, and it's raucus local bar scene. IMHOP the only steak to get is the double sirloin for two. It's far and away the best steak they serve. I never bother with the front/main part of the restaurant, if I want something more formal like that I'd go to Keen's.

Sparks - This was my favorite Manhattan steak house years ago. I've been twice recently after a long hiatus and was disappointed. My steak was overcooked both times, and not as good as the ones I remembered having here 7-8 years ago.

For the purposes you described I'd choose Strip House or Keen's. In my experience, celebrity spotting (other than the occasional sports star) isn't very usual at steak houses. That's more of a trendy or super-high end restaurant thing. Go for Strip House if you want a more "clubby" atmosphere where you might actually see a few attractive women (who will unfortunately be on dates with other men). Go to Keen's if you want to be able to bring some special birthday wines and not break the bank.

Edited by Felonius (log)
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